harpdude61
383 posts
Oct 04, 2010
1:42 PM
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I'm excited and very much looking forward to delivery of my Buddha Harps in the near future. I have heard nothing but great reviews of these harps.
I'm just wondering about how often to use them. To be honest, ordering a set of custom harps was a pretty big financial decision for me, but I felt like now or never so why not.
Should I play these harps exclusively? I'm sure it would accelerate my progress as a player......or should I save them for public jamming and performances and play my self gapped $39 Golden Melodys for practice?
My natural inclination is to make them last as long as I can, but I may be losing out in the long run. I'm probably over-cautious and they might last for years with daily play. I will say during the week I get in about two hours practice a day and sometimes a little more on the weekend...and a couple of jams a week.
I do try to play at a minimal volume.
Just curious about how you custom harp owners do it?
Last Edited by on Oct 04, 2010 1:43 PM
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Joch230
328 posts
Oct 04, 2010
1:57 PM
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You may need to use them to get used to how responsive they are. What that means is, for me at least, that they need a fraction of the air your other harps need to hit the correct note. Takes a while to not hit the blow reeds a bit harder than you normally would and have them end up sounding flat. For chords and octaves too. It was easier for me to not draw as hard as before causing the reed to flatten out...not as much of an adjustment for me anyhow. Blow bends....almost too easy. There are times when I wish that they maybe weren't so responsive but I don't know that you can have it all and still get the killer tone and responsiveness.
-John
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hvyj
675 posts
Oct 04, 2010
2:01 PM
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My Buddha Harps are my performing set. I use them whenever I play out or gig and I usually use them whenever I practice unless they happen to be in my car at the time. I don't baby them or use them selectively. I bought them to play them, not to keep around as collector's items.
My backup set are Suzuki Hammonds which used to be my performing set. The only drawback to regular use of custom harps is that you have to clean them more often. Because of the tighter tolerances, they are a little more prone to jam due to a build up of dried saliva, so you've got to take them apart and clean them a little more often than you would OOB harps.
The Buddha Harps do take some getting used to. Because they respond so well, playing them improves your technique. Because the instrument responds so precisely to technique you are not fighting the harp to get it to do what you want it to. So you are able to refine your technique and that carries over to playing other harps.
For example, I used to really struggle to get the whole step blow bend on blow 10. On a Buddha harp it's easy. Now, after refining my technique by playing my Buddha Harps, I can drop the 10 blow a whole step on ANY harp in any key (including F# and High G) which is something I could never do before. Likewise, my precision on the three bends in the 3 hole draw improved enormously from playing my Buddha Harps which has also carried over to any other harp I play. When Chris says a Buddha Harp will make you a better player, it's true.
Last Edited by on Oct 04, 2010 2:18 PM
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MichaelAndrewLo
435 posts
Oct 04, 2010
2:14 PM
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I have a Joe Spiers stage 3 B flat marine band and a Neil Graham custom marine band with a black wood comb. Those are the only harps I practice on. Joe's has a 2 year warranty which justified the price for me because I was having to buy a new marine band every month! Now, granted I've gotten better and bust way fewer harps now, but I think you should just play as much as possible with your custom harps. I don't think yo-yo ma practices on a student cello. The worst that happens is it goes out of tune or you bust a reed and have the customizer repair it. That also helps to allow you to always push your technique to improve because if something is not working then you know it's YOU and make the proper adjustment in your technique.
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Andrew Larson, R.N.
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Buddha
2544 posts
Oct 04, 2010
2:21 PM
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they should be the harps you always use and you should expect them to last much longer than a typical harp.
Paul Sprawl got a harp from me over a year ago. Now he's the first to tell you that he's not a master player but before the buddha harp he was replacing his harps once a month or so. The harp I made for him, hasn't gone out of tune nor has he broken a reed. He told me, he was amazed by that feature.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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ZackPomerleau
1146 posts
Oct 04, 2010
2:33 PM
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I use my customs all of the time, they are some of my main harps (my A, Bb, and D mainly). I've only had the occasional issue but those were remedied by simply washing them.
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eharp
827 posts
Oct 04, 2010
5:34 PM
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"ordering a set of custom harps was a pretty big financial decision for me"
you got that type of cash?!?!?
i hope you are gigging to cover that sort of expenditure.
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hvyj
677 posts
Oct 04, 2010
6:10 PM
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@eharp: Well, what does a good quality guitar or saxophone cost? I consider my instrument to be my performing set of harmonicas.
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harpwrench
338 posts
Oct 04, 2010
6:58 PM
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"i hope you are gigging to cover that sort of expenditure"
Wow.
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harpdude61
384 posts
Oct 04, 2010
7:15 PM
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You guys have convinced me! Thanks for responding! Great answers..
@eharp..."you got that type of cash?!?!?"
I'm 50,empty nester, and finally have a little time for me. I am not in a band, but have a hobby I love dearly. If I had to gig to pay for harps I'd be buying mine at the Cracker Barrel. Sometimes you can justify something just because it makes you happy.
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bluemoose
338 posts
Oct 04, 2010
7:31 PM
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Buddha harp make you very happy! Long time! :)
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HarpNinja
661 posts
Oct 05, 2010
7:40 AM
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The cost is worth it. I have don't get a ton of time to practice, but I usually use the harps I've tweaked vs customs I've paid money for.
When gigging, I always use my customs.
If I didn't gig, I would use them when practicing techniques. It tends to transfer well to my not so custom harps better than the other way around.
But, yeah, if you are buying them, play them!!! They aren't decorations. Life is too short.
I take the same approach with my son's toys. If he is using them so much they are getting wore out or broken, then we've gotten a good return on the investment. I don't mind replacing them. I don't like when he gets something and it sits. It'll last longer, but for what end?
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Amp for Harp Blog
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boris_plotnikov
266 posts
Oct 05, 2010
8:38 AM
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You have to use the same harps for practice and gigging. It was my mistake to have different sets (and I give up). You have to be familiar with any harps you play. The only think I recommend is to have for practice one harp with extra tight reed actions, to practice avoiding unwanted chokes.
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Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
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harpdude61
385 posts
Oct 05, 2010
9:23 AM
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It does make sense to play them exclusively when I think about it.
I ordered the 6 harps I use most but I'm sure I'll want the rest...especially since I'm learning 6th and 12th position.
Last Edited by on Oct 05, 2010 9:24 AM
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Tin Lizzie
136 posts
Oct 05, 2010
9:24 AM
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I pretty much only play my customs. They last forever for me, unlike out of the box harps. So, since I don't have to keep replacing them, they aren't any more expensive than non customs. I think most customizers charge too little for their harps. It's a lot of time to make a good custom harp.
A lot of people here talk about having no money, but I remember when there was a thread titled something like "show us your stuff" and the same people who said they had no money had whole rooms full of musical instruments and equipment.
Me? I have my custom harps.
.
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Tin Lizzie
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oldwailer
1377 posts
Oct 05, 2010
10:51 AM
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I only have two Buddha harps--A and G. When I reach for a harp in one of those keys, the hand just goes to them, even though I have back-ups. It makes no sense to me to play a lesser harp--even if I'm just noodling around. . .
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